Kentia Palm Care: Light, Water, Pets and Brown Tips
Howea forsteriana
The kentia palm is the classic indoor palm: slow, elegant, and well suited to lower light than most palms can handle. It is also pet-safe, which most plants in this guide are not.
How to care for a kentia palm
Kentia palms handle medium light better than most palms and grow best in bright, indirect light. Direct afternoon sun can scorch the fronds. Growth is slow, so a kentia keeps its shape for years.
Use a well-draining mix and a pot with drainage holes, and keep the plant away from heating and cooling vents. They like to be a little pot-bound, so repotting is rarely needed.
Where a kentia palm works
Bright, indirect light
The best growth. It handles medium light better than most palms.
Hot afternoon sun
Direct afternoon sun can scorch the fronds.
Next to a vent
Dry air from heating and cooling browns the tips. Keep it back.
How often to water a kentia palm
Water when the top 1 to 2 inches of soil are dry, usually every week to 10 days, and water until it drains. Never leave the pot standing in water, and cut back in winter.
Why kentia palm leaves turn yellow
Older fronds yellowing and dying back one at a time is normal. Several fronds yellowing at once usually means overwatering or poor drainage.
Brown tips come from dry air, long gaps between waterings, or salt build-up. Trim only the brown part of the frond and fix the cause.
Pots, drainage and water
A kentia palm roots deep and grows slowly, so the pot should be stable and drain well.
- Rocks on a pot collar hide the rim of the liner and the soil line.
- The plant stays in its liner, a nursery pot with drainage holes, so water can leave the soil.
- A filler under the liner sets the height so the rim sits just below the top of the decorative pot.
- The decorative pot has no hole. Water that drains from the liner collects here, and has to be emptied.
My pot has no drainage hole. How do I water?
Use a liner with holes inside the decorative pot. Water until it drains, then empty the outer pot.
Does it need a tall pot?
Kentia roots grow downward, so a pot that is deep, not just wide, suits it.
How often should I repot?
Rarely. Kentia palms like to be a little pot-bound and grow slowly.
Can I leave water in the tray?
No. Never leave the pot standing in water. Empty the tray after watering.
Is a kentia palm toxic to cats and dogs?
Kentia palms are listed as non-toxic to cats and dogs by the ASPCA. A pet that chews on fronds can still get an upset stomach, so it is worth discouraging. Pet-safety information here follows the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list.
Kentia palm in offices
Kentia palms suit lobbies and reception areas that want an upright shape and have medium or bright light.
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